Week 10 Waiver Wire: Ranking This Week's Top 7 Available Players

With nearly nine weeks of the fantasy season completed, at first glance, there may not seem to be much available on the waiver wire for Week 10. However, if you dig a little deeper, I believe you may find some hidden gems.

Today we'll look at the best available player for every position on your fantasy football team (yes, that includes kicker and defense) and rank them in importance to your team. Here are the top seven available players on Week 10's waiver wire.

7. Defense: St. Louis Rams

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Before you call me a moron for suggesting that you pick up a team defense with one of the worst records in the league, let me explain to you why I recommend you pick it up.

Even though the St. Louis Rams defense has had difficulties so far this year, its schedule for the rest of the season is fairly easy and defense-friendly. Starting with Week 10, the Rams have games against awful offenses such as the Seattle Seahawks (twice), Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.

They also play the San Francisco 49ers twice, and we all know that San Francisco is no offensive juggernaut.

The only games I could see causing trouble are against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. However, their offenses have been so hot and cold that I would still favor St. Louis' defense in the matchup.

While no defense will give you a league championship in fantasy football, it can be the difference between a close loss and a close victory.

6. Kicker: Phil Dawson, Cleveland Browns

There isn't much to say about kickers, and like defenses, they won't be the player bringing you home a league title.

When looking at the best available kicker on the waiver wire, you need to look more at the offense than the kicker. That is why Phil Dawson is the best available kicker right now.

Dawson is only owned in two percent of Yahoo! leagues. With the Cleveland Browns offense having a difficult time finding the end zone lately, Dawson is a nice pickup. They can move the ball but just can't seem to score more than a field goal.

With a difficult stretch of games in front of the Browns, expect Dawson to get plenty of opportunities to kick field goals.

5. Flex: Donald Bown, Indianapolis Colts

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Donald Brown started the season third on the Indianapolis Colts depth chart at running back. Now, because of injuries and back-to-back strong performances, he appears to be in line to receive the majority of the carries for the struggling Colts.

Brown had 16 carries for 70 yards against the Atlanta Falcons. While those aren't great numbers, the key number is that Delone Carter, his main competition for carries, only received four carries the entire day. That is good news for Brown, who finally looked decisive running the football against Atlanta.

You shouldn't expect him to get you Adrian Peterson fantasy points, but 70 to 100 yards and a touchdown here and there is definitely worth picking up off the waiver wire. This is especially true if you have been hit by the injury bug at running back.

4. Tight End: Jared Cook, Tennessee Titans

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When Kenny Britt went down with a season-ending injury for the Tennessee Titans, many thought Jared Cook would be one guy who would start putting up bigger numbers. While that hasn't happened, we have definitely seen his potential throughout the season.

We have only seen flashes of what Cook can bring to this offense. If the Titans want to be able to hang with a team like the Houston Texans in the AFC South divisional race, they will need to look in Cook's direction more often.

At 6'7", he is a major mismatch against opposing defenses. He is always a threat in the red zone, which is exactly what you want in a fantasy tight end.

Don't be surprised if Cook has some monster games for the remainder of the season and easily surpasses his first-half season totals.

3. Wide Receiver: Steve Breaston, Kansas City Chiefs

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Through the first seven games of the season, Steve Breaston was a major disappointment for the Kansas City Chiefs. Twenty-two receptions, 335 yards and two touchdowns is not the type of production you want from a starting wide receiver.

However, after catching seven passes for 115 yards on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, Breaston could be turning his season around for Kansas City. It was easily the best game of the season for him, and even though the Chiefs lost, it was a good sign for this offense.

While Dwayne Bowe is still Matt Cassel's top target, Breaston wasn't brought in to be the top target, but rather a second option. Likewise for your fantasy team, Breaston shouldn't be your top receiver, but he could make a very nice complementary receiver, and you could even stick him in at the flex position.

Don't expect over 100 yards receiving every game from here on out for Breaston, but he should easily have a few more stellar performances and plenty of touchdown opportunities.

2. Running Back: Roy Helu, Washington Redskins

It has been such an up-and-down season for Roy Helu that it is hard to trust him as a fantasy player. However, after Sunday's performance, he should be back on the good side of Mike Shanahan.

Helu only rushed for 41 yards on 10 carries against the San Francisco 49ers, but he also had 14 receptions for 105 yards. That type of dual production is exactly what you want from a running back down the stretch in fantasy football.

With Ryan Torain only receiving one carry on Sunday, Helu looks to be the starter from here on out for the Washington Redskins. Even though Helu didn't find the end zone on Sunday, the total yardage he has the ability to gain still makes him a great player to get off the waiver wire.

I'd be surprised if Helu had another 14 receptions for 105 yards through the air. However, I fully expect him to continue to produce as a runner and receiver in the upcoming weeks and have more opportunities to score touchdowns.

1. Quarterback: John Beck, Washington Redskins

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I had John Beck as a player to pick up off the waiver wire a few weeks ago, but clearly no one listened. With more and more quarterbacks becoming the key fantasy players on teams, it should be no surprise that a quarterback tops our rankings as the best waiver wire get for Week 10.

I understand that the Washington Redskins' season is spiraling very quickly downward, but that isn't all Beck's fault. In fact, Beck had a fairly decent performance against the San Francisco 49ers and their stout defense.

The key statistic on Sunday concerning Beck was the fact that he threw the ball 47 times and completed almost 64 percent of his passes. Whenever a quarterback has that many opportunities to throw the ball, he will be a quality option for a fantasy team.

Expect the Redskins to continue to air it out and for Beck to put up nearly 300 yards and a few touchdowns for the remainder of the season.